3. Austronesian layer

Pre-Austronesian influence in Austroasiatic is extensive, and is likely due to mixing that happened during the Middle Neolithic as pre-Austronesian speakers from the Lower Yangtze delta migrated southward down the coast of southeastern China, from Zhejiang into Fujian and Guangdong.

Pre-Austroasiatic shared verb-initial word order with pre-Austronesian. Many words are also shared, as noted by proponents of the "Austric" hypothesis. However, I consider pre-Austronesian and pre-Austroasiatic to have been separate phyla during the Early Neolithic, with similarities due later interactions.

Similarities include some basic body parts and infixes such as -m- and -n-.